(Farming Connect is an all Wales service for farming families which provides farm businesses with a range of services tailored to a particular need.

Farming Connect is financed through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.)

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As someone who understands quite a bit but doesn’t speak a great deal it is shocking how arrogant and rude a lot of Welsh speakers are.

Attending an agricultural college nearby many years ago it confirmed my idea of the arrogance when Welsh speaking lecturers and staff would rattle on in Welsh to the students who spoke it leaving out the ones who could not understand.

My wife speaks Welsh and we have made a conscious decision to educate our three children through the English medium as it gives them a better chance in further education.

I want my children to be global citizens not petty minded ignorant souls who have hardly travelled beyond the Welsh border.

Member

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As someone who understands quite a bit but doesn’t speak a great deal it is shocking how arrogant and rude a lot of Welsh speakers are.

Attending an agricultural college nearby many years ago it confirmed my idea of the arrogance when Welsh speaking lecturers and staff would rattle on in Welsh to the students who spoke it leaving out the ones who could not understand.

My wife speaks Welsh and we have made a conscious decision to educate our three children through the English medium as it gives them a better chance in further education.

I want my children to be global citizens not petty minded ignorant souls who have hardly travelled beyond the Welsh border.

That is very narrow minded and short sighted of you. The more languages a child learns, the better. I know of not a single child anywhere taught Welsh that cannot communicate at least as well in English. Never seen a child disadvantaged by being able to speak Welsh but they may well be disadvantaged socially and in the workplace by not being able to speak it, as indeed you were in college apparently.

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Not fused either way myself, but we're stuck with 1970's prices no ? Thanks to 40 years of you know what. For profitable farming in the future, we either need 21st Century prices for our produce ( highly unlikely ), or subsidies, no ?

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Almost all primary school children are taught some Welsh in Welsh located schools, so the best way to promote the language is to carry on speaking it to them so that they too carry on using it.
Very many people around here have learnt, or have begun speaking Welsh in their teens or later, many having no previous Welsh language background. They are proud of their achievement and of their bilingualism and extended vocabulary. They can socialise easily in all situations using one or, very commonly, both languages depending on who they talk to. Very soon their thought processes as well as the spoken language becomes bilingual, so they car read something in one language and immediately discuss it in the other, interchangeably.
I only wish that I had also learnt French, German and Spanish when I was younger. A friend is fluent in nine languages, including Mandarin and Welsh, even English, which puts paid to the lie that learning any particular language is in any way divisive.

If you can't understand the local language, or the language of a region, don't be a lazy complaining git, learn it and use it yourself.

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Lots of rural people still use their native tongue ( sometimes without realizing), it's nice the rural community has been asked for ideas. @Yale I get where your coming from but the flip side is I come from a ethnic minority that doesn't get to learn it's own language in it's own country, how sad is that?

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Not fused either way myself, but we're stuck with 1970's prices no ? Thanks to 40 years of you know what. For profitable farming in the future, we either need 21st Century prices for our produce ( highly unlikely ), or subsidies, no ?

You are a disingenuous idiot for claiming such a thing when it is you that is rabidly Brexit, which is universally acknowledged to rapidly, after initial chaos lasting six months to a year, to decimate your farm income through promised increased unsubsidised competition and lower food prices.
Your hypocrisy knows no bounds.

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Lots of rural people still use their native tongue ( sometimes without realizing), it's nice the rural community has been asked for ideas.@Yale I get where your coming from but the flip side is I come from a ethnic minority that doesn't get to learn it's own language in it's own country, how sad is that?

Its not just languages but dialects of course. The different accents and words used in all languages from one region to another is amazingly diverse. The difference between received English, Somerset, Mancunian, Brummy, Geordie, fishing port Scottish, North and South Wales is amazing. I still find it easier to talk to someone from some parts of Welsh North Wales in English than in Welsh, because my mid-Wales Welsh is so different from their Gog [Northern] Welsh.
It all adds to the diversity of culture. One homogenous received BBC English throughout the nation would be so much less rich and interesting than what we have.

Member

You are a disingenuous idiot for claiming such a thing when it is you that is rabidly Brexit, which is universally acknowledged to rapidly, after initial chaos lasting six months to a year, to decimate your farm income through promised increased unsubsidised competition and lower food prices.
Your hypocrisy knows no bounds.

You seem to have a knack for ignoring past catastrophes, from Quotas to the historic scheme, only showing an interest when the milk price crashes every few years..

Anyhoo, off topic. Whilst spending money promoting the Welsh language is very honourable, surely it should be spent on agriculture ? Same goes for grants, why have they decided no till is best, at the expense of other tried and tested methods ? Why have they decided big is best, with no grants for the smaller diesel tanks etc ? Very EU-ish.

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You seem to have a knack for ignoring past catastrophes, from Quotas to the historic scheme, only showing an interest when the milk price crashes every few years..

Anyhoo, off topic. Whilst spending money promoting the Welsh language is very honourable, surely it should be spent on agriculture ? Same goes for grants, why have they decided no till is best, at the expense of other tried and tested methods ? Why have they decided big is best, with no grants for the smaller diesel tanks etc ? Very EU-ish.

To my knowledge there is no mention of spending money, any money, on this idea. All they are asking is for ideas on how Welsh farming could further aid the language.

One of the ways it does it locally is that almost all the YFC clubs in Ceredigion are run through Welsh. That certainly doesn't mean that English speaking children or young adults are excluded. Indeed a fairly high proportion of members are not from Welsh speaking or even farming backgrounds, but they soon get to speak Welsh, because everyone else does. My step-niece has a London background and that is the route that she took. She became fluent in Welsh in her teens and actually went back to London to work after leaving university before becoming a deputy headmistress in a Liverpool school. She has just started a three year stint as a deputy head in Dubai with 60 teachers under her instruction. She is proud of her Welsh and uses it with all her friends in the area and has given her confidence and a wider social circle and, combined with the YFC experience, the social and personal confidence to make a success of her life globally.

Member

As someone who understands quite a bit but doesn’t speak a great deal it is shocking how arrogant and rude a lot of Welsh speakers are.

Attending an agricultural college nearby many years ago it confirmed my idea of the arrogance when Welsh speaking lecturers and staff would rattle on in Welsh to the students who spoke it leaving out the ones who could not understand.

My wife speaks Welsh and we have made a conscious decision to educate our three children through the English medium as it gives them a better chance in further education.

I want my children to be global citizens not petty minded ignorant souls who have hardly travelled beyond the Welsh border.

We chose the other way, to make sure the Welsh was in there properly from the start. Welsh medium primary and Welsh stream secondary - but with A Levels in English if they choose the sciences or math's, see below for more in re' this...

That is very narrow minded and short sighted of you. The more languages a child learns, the better. I know of not a single child anywhere taught Welsh that cannot communicate at least as well in English. Never seen a child disadvantaged by being able to speak Welsh but they may well be disadvantaged socially and in the workplace by not being able to speak it, as indeed you were in college apparently.

I can't see a disadvantage in speaking, none at all. But there are definite disadvantages in being educated in it in some subjects. I know of two, and have heard of other cases of medical students coming from Welsh science A Levels, straight A's throughout, and entering university to find themselves really struggling because the courses were entirely in English and the vocab' needed just didn't come to hand. Both were struggling by the end of their first year, one made it and graduated, the other dropped out in - I think - year three.

I started a medical degree and realised it wasn't for me at all, but can tell you that the volume of work required at the start is phenomenal. Having to cope with it and an entirely new vocab' would have been extremely hard. That's why our kids will have the option of doing their A Levels in English, there isn't a university in Wales - or the rest of the world - that teaches engineering, the sciences, nursing, medicine etc. in Welsh and we don't want them disadvantaged if that's the route they choose.

You are a disingenuous idiot for claiming such a thing when it is you that is rabidly Brexit, which is universally acknowledged to rapidly, after initial chaos lasting six months to a year, to decimate your farm income through promised increased unsubsidised competition and lower food prices.
Your hypocrisy knows no bounds.

Member

Its not just languages but dialects of course. The different accents and words used in all languages from one region to another is amazingly diverse. The difference between received English, Somerset, Mancunian, Brummy, Geordie, fishing port Scottish, North and South Wales is amazing. I still find it easier to talk to someone from some parts of Welsh North Wales in English than in Welsh, because my mid-Wales Welsh is so different from their Gog [Northern] Welsh.
It all adds to the diversity of culture. One homogenous received BBC English throughout the nation would be so much less rich and interesting than what we have.

Language is a living history & just as important as any ancient artifact.@7610 super q I don't know about Wales but I do know the Cornish language budget is very small & mainly helped by volunteers. I'd rather have food in my belly but identity comes quite high up my list of important things , government/ councils waste a fair bit of money on all sorts of things , I don't see why language shouldn't get a share.

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Language is a living history & just as important as any ancient artifact.@7610 super q I don't know about Wales but I do know the Cornish language budget is very small & mainly helped by volunteers. I'd rather have food in my belly but identity comes quite high up my list of important things , government/ councils waste a fair bit of money on all sorts of things , I don't see why language shouldn't get a share.

Farming Connect have at their disposal a massive budget from our Annual Agricultural Financial package given to Welsh Farmers. 80 Training courses almost daily invites to this or that advice, resilience vets etc etc. How much is it actually costing ?? Does anybody have access to the budget amount it will probably make your toes curl if you are a farmer?? Subsidy covers the low price of food not having it diverted and siphoned off!!

Member

Language is a living history & just as important as any ancient artifact.@7610 super q I don't know about Wales but I do know the Cornish language budget is very small & mainly helped by volunteers. I'd rather have food in my belly but identity comes quite high up my list of important things , government/ councils waste a fair bit of money on all sorts of things , I don't see why language shouldn't get a share.

I don't disagree, but there's already a Welsh language board, with ample funds, I've no doubt.
Farming connect has no business getting involved in this IMO. They should stick to just giving agricultural advice ( like ADAS used to ), and WAG should just concentrate on administering EU subsidies fairly. Farming connect have already over stepped their mark by telling folks to go in for organic veg in the early 2000's and fudgeing up the entire industry. They then turned their attention to free range eggs.....

Member

We chose the other way, to make sure the Welsh was in there properly from the start. Welsh medium primary and Welsh stream secondary - but with A Levels in English if they choose the sciences or math's, see below for more in re' this...

I can't see a disadvantage in speaking, none at all. But there are definite disadvantages in being educated in it in some subjects. I know of two, and have heard of other cases of medical students coming from Welsh science A Levels, straight A's throughout, and entering university to find themselves really struggling because the courses were entirely in English and the vocab' needed just didn't come to hand. Both were struggling by the end of their first year, one made it and graduated, the other dropped out in - I think - year three.

I started a medical degree and realised it wasn't for me at all, but can tell you that the volume of work required at the start is phenomenal. Having to cope with it and an entirely new vocab' would have been extremely hard. That's why our kids will have the option of doing their A Levels in English, there isn't a university in Wales - or the rest of the world - that teaches engineering, the sciences, nursing, medicine etc. in Welsh and we don't want them disadvantaged if that's the route they choose.

It's not universally acknowledged, there is me and him that disagree with it for a start.

I'm certainly not advocating a totally Welsh education. Don't know where you got that idea from. I think it is silly to teach specialist subjects like the sciences in Welsh, for instance. I'm certainly not one that thinks in purely 'black or white' terms. Bilingual/mulilingual means being able to communicate effectively in either/or, or both/several languages and speciality subjects are best taught in the universal language of a region, which in many cases may be English, Spanish, Russian or Chinese, depending on what part of the world is your domicile.

As a first language Welsh speaker, you just might have noticed that I have little difficulty communicating with you in English.

Member

I don't disagree, but there's already a Welsh language board, with ample funds, I've no doubt.
Farming connect has no business getting involved in this IMO. They should stick to just giving agricultural advice ( like ADAS used to ), and WAG should just concentrate on administering EU subsidies fairly. Farming connect have already over stepped their mark by telling folks to go in for organic veg in the early 2000's and fudgeing up the entire industry. They then turned their attention to free range eggs.....

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The National Farmers Union (NFU) has set out its plans for achieving net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rom British Agriculture by 2040 – a decade ahead of the government’s ambition for the whole UK economy. NFU president Minette Batters first announced the net zero by 2040 goal at this year’s Oxford Farming Conference in […]